What Is...? A Jeopardy! Podcast

Don't worry, we aren't tired of Jeopardy! at all. But we are life-tired as John is still jet-lagged from his trip to Iceland and Emily is shaking off the effects of a long weekend camp reunion. And of course, that means this episode is as chaotic as Thursday's Final Jeopardy! was, as we have tons of bleary-eyed laughs covering a wild week of games and one of the most memorable FJs since we started...

On this very special John-less episode of WIAJP, Emily is joined once again by writer, podcaster, Jeopardy! fan, and certified good driver Louis Peitzman. We recap a fun week of runaway games and enjoy Matt Massie's 3-game run. Matt, are you listening?? One contestant's anecdote has us saying mazel tov and the fans speculate about Ken's star meter rising. Plus, in lieu of a deep dive, an extremely...

The world has gone mad as John officially enters the Jeopardy! contestant pool and we discuss this week of games with another spate of new champs as we say goodbye to Geoff Barnes and hello to "sullen, emo 'over it'" contestants Stella Trout and Joey Quismorio. We also have a conspiracy theory about the seemingly increased difficulty of this week's clues, Emily gets to see Dance Hall Crashers, J!...

It's another week with multiple champions, and for some reason, the Jeopardy! fans are FUMING about it! They complain when a champ wins too many games, but also when they win not enough. But hey, we have a nice time, as we get to meet a slew of new players this week, almost all of whom we like. Ken also basically says "shitpoo" on national TV, the noble "dik-dik" once again appears, and we go very...

It's a big week for John on the pod, as he gets to set his own personal record and we wonder if the J! producers have it out for Vancouverites, as Brendan Liaw's great run comes to a harrowing end. We also get a couple of great games, John gives us an update on his Jeopardy! test experience, and J! fans are fuming (sort of?) about Jim's preparation for his Friday game. Plus, we dive deep on the fi...

It's an up-and-down week on J! as no champion really gains control of the left podium but we have a ton of fun with Ken going hard on referencing an anecdote, Andrew eats a lot of sandwiches, and J! continues to get horny with a "what is peen?" response. Plus, J! fans are upset with a Triple Stumper in FJ and we dive deep on Michael Dell. Join our Patreon! It's an exciting time as Andy Richter joi...

It's a scattered week on Jeopardy! as we say goodbye to Ben Ganger and hello to a cavalcade of new champs, both deserving and perhaps a little bit lucky. We also deal with the most cringe game of the year as John's Canadian and Vancouver brother Keegan has one of the most devastating games in recent memory. Jeopardy! fans predictably fume about that game and a judges' ruling, we get an anecdote ab...

It's been a real run of long-term champions recently and that continues anew this week as we say goodbye to Liam Starnes and hello to Ben Ganger, who puts together an impressive 4-game win streak. We also get a trifecta of hilarious Final Jeopardy! answers, a contestant tries valiantly to pronounce "Nate Bargatze", and friend of the show Alison Betts' innocuous comment on a Reddit post gets the J!...

It's Liam Starnes week on Jeopardy! as the 20 year-old goes on a run for the ages, and we love every second of it, from his Jeopardy!-themed birthday party to his endearing lack of knowledge about anything pop culture. John and Emily are reunited as Emily is on the mend from surgery and John is back home, and we revel in each other's company with the usual cavalcade of dumb jokes and observations....

With Emily continuing to recover from ass surgery, it's the famous "Wife of the Pod" Becca who joins the show to break down the week that was, from Andrew Hayes locking up a ToC berth to Steven Hoying wearing perhaps the brightest sweater in Jeopardy! history. Becca tells us her history with the show and how it's been woven into the fabric of her relationship with John, and John gets so distracted...

On a very special John-less episode, Emily is joined by a friend of the pod & true hunk connoisseur: Handsome Kevin Seccia™️! We recap an exciting week of games as we bid goodbye to Mike Dawson and say hello to Andrew Hayes. We also succumb to Anise’s charms, finally find out how tall Mike is, dive deep on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and set the record for most wrestling analogies ever made on thi...

Look, past guest host of this show and our great friend Guy Branum was on Jeopardy! this week. In theory, some other stuff happened too, but we are mostly focused on Guy's Friday appearance, as he does battle with 4-day champion Bryce Wargin and Mike Dawson in a fantastic game. Elsewhere, Mike and Conner give us some great "bad date" anecdotes, JFAF sees the online J! community curious about Guy's...

It's Josh Weikert week on the show, as he goes through a series of Final Jeopardy! misses but it doesn't matter, as a combination of lock games, weird wagers, and good ol' fashioned luck conspire to make him the latest entrant into the 2026 Tournament of Champions. And what a week it is, as Jeopardy! continues to get even hornier with some wild anagrams, we get two insanely nerdy anecdotes, J! fan...

Yes, this is a Jeopardy! podcast, and yes, John reminisces about the old softcore pornography show "The Red Shoe Diaries", which yes, does have an episode with Matt Leblanc in it. But enough about that, it's Alex DeFrank week on the show as the former Sports Jeopardy! champ goes on an excellent run and Ken really lets loose this week with multiple interjections including allowing Alex the joy of d...

We are back, baby! After Emily needed a week off to deal with a butt issue, we have returned and not a moment too soon, as we have an absolutely stellar week of games to recap that had a tournament feel and some very memorable contestants. The H-Bomb looks like he's going to blow up the Jeopardy! stage before running into James Corson, who starts a little run of his own, before the third podium ch...

The JIT continues as we wrap up the quarters and find our way into the first semifinal with some awesome games featuring some of our favorite sweeties! Some of John's favorite Canadians are here too (ooo OOOO) and we have a blast recapping an epic battle between Ben Chan and Shane Whitlock, a buzzer masterclass from Luigi de Guzman, and Ken really having a lot of fun with a category about fascism....

Your two favorite JIT-heads are BACK as the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament rides once again. We have a couple of stunning upsets, the return of many of our sweeties from years' past, and we get very distracted talking about the television show Reacher on this podcast about the television show Jeopardy!. Plus, Roger Craig returns in a big way with an ode to his legendary ToC moment and some news...

It's the Tournament of Champions FINAL week and we crown a brand-new champion! We also watch a weird exhibition game for some reason. The games feature some really great play, some real nervous energy, and without spoiling anything here in the synopsis, one of Adriana Harmeyer, Isaac Hirsch, and Neilesh Vinjamuri hoists the ToC crown, winning $250,000 and the right to compete in the J! Masters. It...

It's a whiplash week of Jeopardy! as we go all the way from the Tournament of Champions quarterfinals to the finals, ending up with a three-way clash for the belt between Adriana Harmeyer, Isaac Hirsch, and Neilesh Vinjamuri. But we have to get their first as Drew gets a few more good bits in, Jeopardy! once again FAILS to beat the horny allegations in their most serious tournament of the year, an...

After weeks of Second Chance and Champions Wild Card play, the long-awaited Tournament of Champions is finally HERE! And it immediately breaks our hearts, as some of our faves go home early and we are treated to one of the harshest Final Jeopardy! judges' rulings in recent memory as CWC champion Mehal Shah bows out. We also see one of the strongest games of the season so far from Neilesh, and Amy...

John was away for work this week and got sick so this is his "Flu Game", as we recap the final week of the Champions Wild Card, and what a week it was. The week featured one of the games of the year, a wonderful two-game final between three of our favorite competitors in the tournament, and another beautifully connected anecdote and response from Drew. Plus, a successfully pulled-off Arrested Deve...

The Second Chance Tournament is over and now it's time to revisit some of our favorite champs from the past with the Champions Wildcard Tournament, and much like the Second Chance, it does not disappoint. Both Second Chance winners Will and Drew make a good impression, John and Emily imagine what their dream Jeopardy! response would be if they were ever on the show, and Adam Hersh has the most "Wh...

It was a tough week for the world and California especially, but it was a great week for Jeopardy! fans as we were treated to a fantastic second week of Second Chance play. A bunch of our faves are back and we have a host of good anecdotes including a rare triple crown day where all 3 were actually good, we dive deep on rhesus monkeys in space, and Drew makes up with the Swifties in a Response of...

The Second Chance Tournament is BACK and with it comes a whole host of our favorites from Season 40, including our man Will Yancey, who we were pulling for back in his first appearance on the show and we pull for him this week as he makes it to the finals. Can he hold off Kaitlin Tarr and Colleen Matthews? We find out here as Kaitlin has a potential harbinger of doom for an anecdote, Colleen becom...

We got to celebrate Christmas with our listeners, and now it's time to celebrate New Year's, with this NYE episode that has us feeling great about 2025! And it must have Laura Faddah feeling great too, as she retires for a few months a 7-day champ with a little bit of luck and some very timely responses carrying her to a ToC berth as we head into the J! post-season. It was a fun week all around as...